Ready To Take It Up A Notch

  

Base Phase of training is for the most part complete. This upcoming week will be a reduce week in volume and then the training will start to get serious in preparation for race season 2013. Every thing has gone very well the past 12 weeks and I am feeling that I am in the best shape I have been in quite a long time. Now I still have a long way to go to achieve my goal of getting back to Kona but I am feeling that I am a lot stronger now than when I was racing last summer. Some intense training ahead to hit a goal of sub 4:20 at Eagleman 70.3.

New Training Totals:
Week
Bike - 5 rides/ 162 miles/ 7.11 hours/ 22. mph/ HR - 139 BPM
Run - 3 runs/ 18.75 miles/ 2.25 hours/ 7:12 per mile
Swim - 4 swims/ 3.5 miles/ 1.66 hours
Total - 12 workouts/ 184.25 miles/ 11.02 hours

2013
Bike - 48 rides/ 1374 miles/ 61.44 hours/ HR - 138 BPM
Run - 27 runs/ 114.5 miles/ 13.95 hours/ 7:20 per mile
Swim - 25 swims/ 24.5 miles/ 11.89 hours
Total - 100 workouts/ 1513 miles/ 87.28 hours

Goals This Week
Bike - 5 rides/ 145-55 miles
Run - 3 runs/ 15-17 miles
Swim - 3-4 swims/ 3 miles

After this week, I will begin to add some track workouts into my run training. I am hoping that moving into the month of March will mean some warmer days to get outside and ride! I am looking forward to that first trek up Jack's Mtn! March will also bring more intense speed oriented pool workouts.

As I have been telling my team......

Shit is about to get real!

People ask....what am I on? What am I am on? I am on my bike 6-8 hours a week, in the pool 1.5-2 hours a week and on the roads 1.5-2 hours a week......and of course caffeine and moose tracks!

Kona 2013! It is on! 

Starting Final Two Weeks Of Base

   

Just feeling a lit bit of 90's alternative rock for this week's blog.....

Every once in a while, I like to listen to the songs that I used to motivate me during my first stint as triathlete, when I was at my best. Listening to a few of them the past two days makes me think that tomorrow some time will be spent downloading songs on Itunes! I may not get back to the same shape physically as I was then but at least mentally I can feel that way! Looking at my results from this year and seeing how small of a number of triathletes in their 20's actually beat me can always help bring back the glory days!

Training continues to go well and I am getting excited for the next phase of training that will begin in two weeks. For the next 2 weeks I will continue in my base phase bring the total weeks of base to 13 weeks. With no major races till June, I am trying to be patient and make sure my mind and body is fresh. Physically, I have feeling stronger than I have in years (and healthy). Mentally, I feel fresh and excited for the racing season.

New Training Totals
Week
Bike - 5 rides/ 164 miles/ 7.25 hours/ 22.6 mph / 137 BPM Avg
Run - 3 runs/ 17.75 miles/ 2.17 hours/ 7:20 per mile
Swim - 3 swims/ 3 miles/ 1.41 hours
Total - 11 workouts/ 184.75 miles/ 10.83 hours

2013
Bike - 43 rides/ 1212 miles/ 54.32 hours/ 22.3 mph/ 138 BPM Avg
Run - 24 runs/ 95.75 miles/ 11.61 hours/ 7:20 per mile
Swim - 21 swims/ 21 miles/ 10.22 hours
Total - 88 workouts/ 1328.75 miles/ 76.15 hours

Goals This Week
Bike - 5 rides/ 165-180 miles
Run - 3-4 runs/17-20 miles
Swim - 3-4 swims/ 3 miles

For those who read the blog week to week.....the healthy salad at lunch during the week continues. I am not going overboard but just trying to eat a little healthier. I just know I will never cut out the coffee, ice cream and beer! Have to have some vices to keep you sane. 

Gaining Confidence

  

Might be a re-post of the song but for some reason the arrangement on this version just rings out to me.

"I said, this train, dreams will not be thwarted
This train, faith will be rewarded"

In this sense of faith, I am not talking about a religious faith but more of a faith that I have in myself to achieve the goals I have set for myself this year. Some may see my confidence as a bit of arrogance but in some regards don't most good athletes have an extreme faith in their abilities. I have to have a strong sense of confidence as I have always set some very lofty goals for myself regardless of what I take on!

I may only be 10 weeks into base training but I can honestly say I am way ahead of last year's training. My bike and swim continue to go very well and this past week my running took a big step forward as I completed two runs of 7 miles.They were the first runs longer than 28-29 minutes since my soleus strain. I am on my way to my goal of being back over 20 miles per week by the end of February.

New Training Totals
Week
Bike - 5 rides/ 162 miles/ 7.26 hours/ 22.3 mph
Run - 3 runs/17.5 miles/ 2.19 hours/ 7:30 per mile
Swim - 4 swims/ 3.75 miles/ 1.79 hours
Total - 12 workouts/ 183.25 miles/ 11.24 hours

2013
Bike - 38 rides/1048 miles/ 47.06 hours/22.2 mph
Run - 21 runs/ 78 miles/ 9.54 hours/ 7:21 per mile
Swim - 18 swims/ 18 miles/ 8.82 hours
Total - 77 weeks/ 1144 miles/ 65.42 hours

10 Week Base Total
Bike - 1933 miles/ 8.69 hours/ 22.3 mph
Run - 110 miles/ 13.59 hours/ 7:24 per mile
Swim - 30.5 miles/ 14.92 hours
Total - 2073.5 miles/ 115.2 hours

Goals For This Week
Bike - 5 rides/ 165-175 miles
Run - 3-4 runs/ 17-20 miles (8 miler)
Swim - 3-4 swims/ 3-4 miles

Kona 2013!

No ticket needed!

What Am I On????

  

9 weeks of Base 1 complete. At least 3 weeks remain or possibly 4 if I should decide to just take Base 1 till the end of February. With looking at possibly not racing till late May or June, there is not a need to jump into a lot of intense training. I can honestly say that the past 9 weeks have me in the best shape I have been in a long time. I am nowhere near race shape but my aerobic fitness is at a very high level. My soleus now feels 100% and I will be changing the training around a bit to get my running to 25-30 miles by the end of February. I also want to be up to a 10-12 mile run every other week by then. My swimming continues to go well and the focus will remain on endurance through February.  I am starting to believe that biking my be strong point right now and that may be advantage for me over the flat bike course at Eagleman. I am really beginning to believe that my goal of 23.5-24.0 mph over the 56 mile course will be easily possible.

New Training Totals
Week
Bike - 7 rides/ 170 miles/ 7.51 hours/ 22.6 mph/ 141 Avg HR
Run - 4 runs/ 14 miles/ 1.68 hours/ 7:12 per mile
Swim - 3 swims/ 2.75 miles/ 1.35 hours
Total - 14 workouts/ 186.75 miles/ 10.54 hours

2012
Bike - 33 rides/ 886 miles/ 39.81 miles/ 22.2 mph/ 139 Avg HR
Run - 18 runs/ 60.5 miles/ 7.35 hours/ 7:17 per mile
Swim - 14 swims/ 14.25 hours/ 7.01 hours
Total - 65 workouts/ 960.75 hours/ 54.17 hours

Goals This Week
Bike - 5-6 Rides/ 175-190 miles
Run - 4 runs/ 18-20 miles
Swim - 3 swims/ 3 miles

The concerted effort to eat better continues! Still some healthy salads at every lunch in the cafeteria. It has a few people concerned but do not fret - the ice cream still continues!

People ask....what am I on? What am I am on? I am on my bike 6-8 hours a week, in the pool 1.5-2 hours a week and on the roads 1.5-2 hours a week......and of course caffeine and moose tracks!

Kona 2013! It is on! 

Track & Field Filled Weekend

   

A day late on the blog but for a good reason. Earlier this evening I wrapped up a fun filled and crazy (no sarcasm) weekend of track & field. On Friday and Saturday, my teams competed at Bucknell University which was followed up by hosting a high school meet today. There were 650 high school athletes scheduled to compete at the meet. My teams performed incredible over the weekend in the competition and hosting the high school meet. Weekends like this make me realize how lucky I am to coach a great group of young student-athletes.

Despite the crazy weekend, training went very well.I did miss 1 swim and 1 run but the other workouts went according to plan. After 4 weeks of pain free running, I am now ready to add some longer runs to my schedule and hope to go for an hour run sometime this week. Now after 4 weeks and close to 850 total miles, this week will be a bit of reduction in volume. As I increase my run volume I will be taking a bit of biking mileage off the calendar. I have been averaging  over 190 miles the past 4 weeks.

New Training Totals
Week
Bike  - 7 rides/ 199 miles/ 8.95 hours/ 22.2 mph
Run - 3 runs/ 10.5 miles/ 1.27 hours/ 7:16 per mile
Swim - 2 swims/2 miles/ 1.01 hours
Total - 12 workouts/ 211.5 miles/ 11.23 hours

2013
Bike - 26 rides/ 716 miles/ 3230 hours/ 22.2 mph
Run  - 14 runs/ 46.5 miles/ 5.69 hours/ 7:20 per mile
Swim - 11 swims/ 11.5miles/ 5.67 hours
Total - 51 workouts/ 774 miles/ 43.66 hours

Goals This Week
Bike - 6-7 rides/ 155-170 miles
Run -  4 runs/ 18 miles
Swim - 3 swims/ 3 miles

I am also continuing my better eating habits. And before everyone wonders, the ice cream and coffee is still there but I may have reduced a little (very little). Who knows, maybe it work?

https://www.tricolumbia.org/events/?eid=2

And according to the site only 4 months, 1 week and 5 days till I qualify for Kona!

My Two Cents; Maybe More Like One Cent

Well in some regards this ad is true....minus the EPO, blood transfusions and testosterone he neglected to say he was also on, he was on his bike 6 hours a a day. Even if it was the "culture" of cycling, drugs or no drugs there still was no cyclist who prepared like he did. This will be as far as I go in painting a positive picture of Lance Armstrong. As an athlete and coach there is nothing more I preach than competing honest and clean!

Now, before you go bashing me, in no way am I condoning what Lance did. In fact, I am very disappointed in finding out that like most other cyclist (professional ranks) he was doping. Did I wish all this was not true...Yes! At the same time, I was not naive enough, throughout his career, to not even have the slightest doubt in the back of my mind that he could be clean!

I watched the first night of the interview and would have watched the 2nd night but I was hosting a track & field meet that night. To me the interview was over in the first 3 minutes.

Oprah - Did you use EPO? Tesosterone? Blood Transfusions?
Lance - Yes

OK - interview done! The she asked what everybody supposedly needed to know, Why? Did Oprah need to ask that for us? Come on people, he was making millions from sponsors every year. Like he said when sponsors starting dropping him, "That was $75 million  day." He was also the feel good story.  He survived cancer, which we can't take that from him. In all reality, there is a very good chance the man should be dead!

Now people are also upset because he did not show enough emotion and remorse during the interview. They are also the same people who would have said, it was fake and he was acting if he showed that or cried. Let's just get down to the truth, everything he did his entire life was calculated, so for him to act any other way would have not gone over well. He was just himself. We learned during the interview what a lot of people already knew about Lance....he is a prick! He has always been one and had to act that way. There is no defending that about Lance.

I think what I am most annoyed with at this time is the amount of moral police, especially in the media, that have come out bashing Lance for admitting he doped all 7 of his tour victories. I have watched the media vilify  Lance for doping but at the same time they want to give a free pass to Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGuire,etc. into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Why? It is the Steroid Era of baseball. Just put an asterisk on it! Sorry, media you can't have it two ways. You cannot select cheats that are worse than others! They are all cheats! If I recall, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are still denying they never tested positive.....Hmmm? Sound familiar?

Let's talk Ryan Braun (MVP/Drug Cheat). When he tested positive, he doesn't fight that he tested positive, he fights the collection process. Recently, Seattle Seahawk Richard Sherman wins his appeal of a positive test on the collection argument but yet his teammate tested positive also and took the suspension. Seems fishy to me??? Two teammates, same position test  positive...sounds like a reason for NFL to test more of that team? Why not? Are we to believe training really changed that much over the past two decades that football players have got that much bigger and faster? Last I heard, the NFL Player Union is still fighting HGH testing? Isn't HGH an illegal drug without prescription?

Where is the uproar by the moral police on the NFL and MLB?

Yes, I am a coach in cross-country/track & field  but I am also not foolish to believe that the sports I coach, at professional level, are clean. But if you followed twitter during the interview, I was appalled at the amount of tweets from people who acted like their sports were 100% clean. I saw one tweet  that said, "Lance don"t bring running into this." Are you kidding me? How many positives are there every year at the World Championships/Olympics? Even now the stories of the Kenyon groups doping are coming out, but track & field is clean to them. Or now that I am back competing in triathlons, the amount of triathletes acting like it is pure. "Triathlons does not want Lance" was one tweet. Now before this blog gets too long and I bring up numerous examples, I ask all track & field athletes to watch the 30 for 30 show on ESPN about the 1986 Olympic 100 meter final and the cover up at the US Trials. For triathletes, I just need to bring up the story of a 54 year old age grouper who was just busted for doping....54 year old?? WTF!!!

For those people I just remind them of the saying - "Those who live in glass houses, should throw no stones!"

I found this article by Scott Tinley, a former Ironman World Champion, and thought it put a lot into perspective. Please read:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-400_162-57564452/fifty-shades-of-lance-armstrong/

We need to be careful of the pedestal that we put our heroes upon! The moral police in this situation, fan or media, were just too naive to understand the culture of the sport or did not want to belive that Lance could fall into that. They were blinded by the feel good story of Lance beating cancer then beating doped riders. At times, I believed it all because of all the so called negative test, but in the back of mind I had doubts. As someone who followed the sport, it did at times seem to good to be true. Now because of their blind faith and idolizing, Lance is the worst human being ever.

Will I continue to watch the Tour? Of course! Even now with better testing and a biological passport, I will still wonder if the winner is clean.It seems as the doctors and athletes in all sports will always be one step ahead of drug testing.

Will I continue to support Livestrong? As a person who had cancer, yes! Livestrong has done a lot to raise awareness regarding cancer and cancer research. I wear my bracelet everyday and will continue to wear it. Do I have a problem with Lance competing again if they reduce his suspension? No! Everybody deserves  a second chance as it seems most sports give their cheats that chance.

What am I on (other than my coffee and ice cream)?
I am on my bike 7-9 hours a week, running 2-3 hours a week and swimming 1.5-2 hours a week!

Compete clean!

Let my bashing begin........

5 Salads But No Way The Ice Cream Stops

  

Almost back to normal! After this week's training, I can say with certainty that the soleus strain is healthy. I had my longest run and also the fastest run since the strain. This occurred during my brick workout this morning. The workout consisted of a 25 mile spin on the bike (22mph/141bpm) followed by a 4 mile run. The run was 28:00 with descending miles and the last two miles were 6:53 and 6:51. I am going to take one more cautious week but shoot for  15-16 miles. I also feel very good about the swim as on Wednesday I swam a relaxed but steady mile in the pool. I covered that mile 27:12 giving me confidence that being on my bike in 30-31:00 at Eagleman will be very possible. Either this coming week or the next will be a reduction in volume. The past three weeks have totaled over 600+ miles and 30+ hours of training.

Training Totals
Week
Bike - 7 rides/ 195 miles/ 8.85 hours/ 22.0 mph
Run - 4 runs/ 14 miles/ 1.69 hours/ 7:14 per mile
Swim - 3 swims/ 3.25 miles/ 1.64 hours
Total - 14 workouts/ 212.5 miles/ 12.39 hours

2013
Bike - 19 rides/ 517 miles/ 23.35 hours/ 22.1 mph
Run - 11 runs/ 36 miles/ 4.42 hours/ 7:22 per mile
Swim - 9 swims/ 9.5 miles/ 4.65 hours
Total  - 39 workouts/ 562.5 miles/ 32.42 hours

Goals (leaning towards another big weak)
Bike - 6-7 rides/ 180-200 miles
Run - 4 runs/ 16 miles
Swim - 3-4 swims/ 3-4 miles

After this week, I feel very confident in my ability to accomplish the ultimate goal - Kona '13

I even started trying to eat a little healthier but don't worry the ice cream will not stop!  (5 Salads this week)